Written Answers Friday 17 November 2006

Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many barrier-free and wheelchair-accessible properties have been built in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Avian Influenza

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the central stockpile of antiviral agents for avian influenza has been completed and, if so, whether each NHS board has been allocated its share.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has stockpiled 1.3 million courses of oseltamivir (known as Tamiflu), an antiviral medicine which may reduce deaths and complications from an influenza pandemic. Although the avian influenza virus poses a risk to birds its risk to humans is extremely limited.

  A small percentage of the stockpile has been predistributed to NHS boards in accordance with the Scottish Operational Framework for Stockpiling, Distributing and Using Antiviral Medicines for Patient Treatment in the Event of Pandemic Influenza available at: http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/pandemicflu/Pages/PanFluFramework.htm.

Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. No costs or savings arose directly from the act. However, following its passage, an Order in Council was approved which provided for additional questions in the 2001 Census about religion. It is estimated that this led to increased expenditure by the Scottish Administration of around £50,000, which fell wholly within 2000-01.

Construction Industry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget for implementing its construction industry strategy has been in each of the last three years, also showing (a) actual spend and (b) outcomes.

Allan Wilson: The implementation of the strategy for the construction industry, in line with the recommendations of the Modernising Construction Strategy Group, is being pursued by Scottish Enterprise and is an operational matter for them. It takes the form of funding for SE Construction Skills Action plan, CSAP, (£35 million 2003-10) and the operation of the Scottish Construction Forum. Scottish Enterprise has supplied the following update:

  
Construction Skills Action Plan (CSAP)
Spend 
2003-04: £1,445,752.
2004-05: £2,658,705.
2005-06: £7,516,308.
Outcomes:
Provision of training.
Workforce development.
Employment creation support.
Capital investment in further education college training infrastructure.
To date these activities have achieved:
800 people into jobs.
436 adult modern apprentices.
15,797 existing workers trained.
383 construction managers undertaking training.
5,000 youth construction MAs in training.
1,480 new apprenticeship training places created in colleges.
Scottish Construction Forum
Spend 
2003-04: £72,511.
2004-05: £213,383.
2005-06: 251,770.
Outcomes:
Fees and operating costs of forum.
Industry research and mapping.
Knowledge exchange seminars.
Construction demonstration projects.
Development support for Scottish Construction Innovation and Excellence Centre.

Council Tax

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Independent): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5713 by Mr Jack McConnell on 14 July 2000, what impact the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds has had on each local authority and their B and D council taxpayers in each year since 2002-03 and what assessment it has made of the impact in future years.

Mr Tom McCabe: As the additional costs arising from the abolition of Advance Corporation Tax have been recognised in each annual local government finance settlement since 1999-2000, there should have been no impact on either local authorities or council tax payers.

Creative Scotland

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Creative Scotland will be sited in Edinburgh.

Patricia Ferguson: No decision has been taken on the location of Creative Scotland. Options for its location are being considered at present, and we expect to make an announcement next year. Officials are working closely with the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen in the early stages of this process.

Cycling

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the main offences were for which cyclists have been found guilty in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Cycling Offences1 in Scottish Courts, 1999-2000 to 2004-05

  

 Offence
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Dangerously riding a bicycle or tricycle 
 4
 3
 5
 3
 4
 -


 Carelessly or inconsiderately riding a bicycle or tricycle
 -
 -
 2
 5
 4
 5


 Drunk when riding a bicycle 
 10
 1
 4
 11
 8
 3


 Bicycles, other offences 
 6
 3
 22
 47
 19
 9


 Total
 20
 7
 33
 66
 35
 17



  Note: 1. Where main offence.

Department of Trade and Industry

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to the Department of Trade and Industry in respect of the losses suffered by Farepak’s customers.

Allan Wilson: My officials are in regular contact with DTI counterparts on issues arising from Farepak collapse which impact or impinge upon devolved responsibilities. I wrote to Ian McCartney, Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry, on 1 November 2006 and determine what steps are being taken to support customers and agents. I have also asked to be kept in touch with how matters progress with the Office of Fair Trading on the issue of reassessing the regulatory framework which applies to Christmas club companies such as Farepak and whether changes are needed.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been convicted of drug driving in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) age group and (b) local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: Figures for driving convictions involving drugs alone are not available. However, the number of persons with a charge proved for drink or drug driving offences in the years 1999-2000 to 2004-05 is given in the following table.

  Persons a Charge Proved for Drink/Drug Driving Offences1,2 in Scottish Courts, by Approximate Local Authority3 and Age, 1999-2000 to 2004-05

  

 Local Authority Area
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Aberdeen City 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 28
 10
 18
 22
 31
 24


 Over 30 
 38
 20
 25
 29
 33
 46


 Total4
 66
 30
 43
 51
 64
 70


 Aberdeenshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 5
 9
 9
 7
 9
 13


 Over 30 
 19
 12
 20
 26
 11
 14


 Total4
 24
 21
 29
 33
 20
 27


 Angus 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 3
 10
 15
 8
 6
 7


 Over 30 
 8
 17
 14
 12
 15
 8


 Total4
 11
 27
 29
 20
 21
 15


 Argyll and Bute 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 3
 3
 6
 7
 2
 4


 Over 30 
 13
 8
 9
 12
 11
 15


 Total3
 16
 11
 15
 19
 13
 19


 Clackmannanshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 3
 4
 1
 4
 3
 1


 Over 30 
 4
 5
 3
 6
 4
 3


 Total4
 7
 9
 4
 10
 7
 4


 Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 8
 10
 18
 21
 11
 15


 Over 30 
 17
 25
 10
 21
 22
 24


 Total4
 25
 35
 28
 42
 33
 39


 Dundee City 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 17
 13
 19
 17
 20
 15


 Over 30 
 15
 26
 20
 29
 27
 16


 Total4
 32
 39
 39
 46
 47
 31


 East Ayrshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 13
 22
 21
 13
 24
 15


 Over 30 
 20
 37
 30
 28
 17
 30


 Total4
 33
 59
 51
 41
 41
 45


 East Lothian 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 7
 2
 2
 8
 7
 5


 Over 30 
 7
 7
 6
 10
 18
 9


 Total4
 14
 9
 8
 18
 25
 14


 Edinburgh, City of 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 42
 30
 25
 50
 23
 25


 Over 30 
 72
 75
 59
 75
 61
 61


 Total4
 116
 106
 84
 125
 84
 86


 Eilean Siar 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 2
 -
 3
 2
 1
 2


 Over 30 
 4
 1
 7
 5
 7
 7


 Total4
 6
 1
 10
 7
 8
 9


 Falkirk 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 6
 14
 15
 21
 16
 10


 Over 30 
 14
 22
 17
 41
 29
 24


 Total4
 20
 36
 32
 62
 45
 34


 Fife 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 21
 30
 14
 42
 26
 29


 Over 30 
 27
 33
 35
 46
 44
 47


 Total4
 48
 63
 49
 88
 70
 76


 Glasgow City 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 75
 74
 71
 92
 64
 68


 Over 30 
 127
 141
 129
 118
 137
 140


 Total4
 202
 215
 200
 211
 201
 208


 Highland 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 9
 13
 15
 31
 25
 31


 Over 30 
 21
 15
 44
 55
 45
 56


 Total4
 30
 28
 59
 86
 70
 87


 Inverclyde 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 9
 7
 10
 14
 6
 13


 Over 30 
 13
 6
 15
 21
 22
 17


 Total4
 22
 14
 25
 35
 28
 30


 Moray 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 4
 3
 10
 8
 10
 8


 Over 30 
 7
 1
 5
 7
 11
 9


 Total4
 11
 4
 15
 15
 21
 17


 North Lanarkshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 13
 22
 15
 17
 14
 14


 Over 30 
 27
 28
 21
 28
 23
 29


 Total4
 40
 51
 36
 45
 37
 43


 Orkney Islands 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 1
 -
 -
 -
 2
 3


 Over 30 
 1
 -
 2
 4
 4
 1


 Total4
 2
 -
 2
 4
 6
 4


 Perth and Kinross 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 4
 11
 16
 22
 8
 21


 Over 30 
 7
 22
 22
 25
 16
 21


 Total4
 11
 33
 38
 47
 24
 42


 Renfrewshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 21
 11
 18
 21
 13
 11


 Over 30 
 22
 23
 19
 26
 25
 29


 Total4
 44
 35
 37
 47
 38
 40


 Scottish Borders 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 7
 1
 10
 4
 7
 10


 Over 30 
 8
 8
 6
 8
 16
 10


 Total4
 15
 9
 16
 12
 23
 20


 Shetland Islands 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 -
 1
 -
 -
 3
 -


 Over 30 
 -
 -
 1
 2
 2
 2


 Total4
 -
 1
 1
 2
 6
 2


 South Ayrshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 12
 20
 8
 10
 13
 14


 Over 30 
 17
 14
 21
 22
 27
 25


 Total4
 29
 34
 29
 32
 40
 39


 South Lanarkshire 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 27
 23
 41
 43
 30
 28


 Over 30 
 40
 43
 41
 60
 45
 57


 Total4
 67
 66
 82
 103
 75
 85


 Stirling 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 3
 8
 10
 12
 8
 4


 Over 30 
 8
 13
 9
 20
 15
 15


 Total4
 11
 21
 19
 32
 23
 19


 West Dunbartonshire
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 14
 13
 12
 21
 16
 24


 Over 30 
 19
 16
 19
 29
 25
 33


 Total4
 33
 29
 31
 50
 41
 57


 West Lothian 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 10
 14
 8
 31
 12
 11


 Over 30 
 12
 16
 20
 33
 34
 20


 Total4
 22
 30
 28
 64
 46
 31


 Scotland5
 
 
 
 
 
 


 30 and under
 383
 378
 410
 548
 410
 425


 Over 30 
 623
 634
 629
 799
 746
 768


 Total4
 1,009
 1,016
 1,039
 1,348
 1,157
 1,193



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes the offences of driving motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs, in charge of a motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs, failure to provide a breath specimen at the roadside, and failure to provide a breath, blood or urine specimen at roadside.

  3. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authority areas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

  4. Totals may include a small number where age is unknown.

  5. Includes courts which could not be mapped to approximate local authority areas.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been stopped for suspected drink or drug driving in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) age group and (b) local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: This Information is not held centrally.

Education

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunity there is for HM Inspectorate of Education to take into consideration national assessment results and attainment targets in school inspections.

Robert Brown: HM Inspectors of Education use a range of evidence in evaluating attainment in primary and secondary schools. This includes national assessment results for the 5-14 stages.

Education

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes to HM Inspectorate of Education’s inspections are planned, in light of current changes in education policy.

Robert Brown: HM Inspectorate of Education constantly review their procedures and shape inspections to take account of changing circumstances, including the impact of educational polices on pupils’ experiences. As part of this on-going process, they also take account of feedback from key stakeholders such as parents, learners and heads of establishments and services.

Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The Executive is not aware of any significant costs having been incurred as a result of the act.

Environment

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in respect of a replacement for the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme.

Ross Finnie: In reply to question S2W-28102 on 13 September 2006, I stated that the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme was designed to assist communities in the vicinity of past or present quarries subject to the Aggregates Levy, and that the position on funding after March 2007 will follow from decisions on the levy still to be announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and on subsequent decisions by Scottish ministers on distribution of any funds. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  That remains the position however the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and HM Treasury have carried out a policy review of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund during 2006, to examine the extent to which the Fund has met its objectives so far, whether it should continue and if so, what activities the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund should fund from 2007 onwards.

  http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/aggregates/index.htm

Erskine Bridge Tolls Act 2001

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Erskine Bridge Tolls Act 2001 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Tavish Scott: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. No costs have been incurred as a result of the act.

Finance

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance on spending that might be seen to be promoting the political interests of a particular political party or group of parties it has issued to accountable officers.

Mr Tom McCabe: Guidance for Accountable Officers is contained in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and the Memorandum from the Principal Accountable Officer to Accountable Officers . The memorandum forms part of the accountability section of the manual which is published on the internet.

Finance

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance on spending that might be seen to be promoting the political interests of a pressure group or similar body it has issued to accountable officers.

Mr Tom McCabe: Guidance for Accountable Officers is contained in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and the Memorandum from the Principal Accountable Officer to Accountable Officers . The memorandum forms part of the accountability section of the manual which is published on the internet.

Foster Care

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to become foster carers have been made in each year since 1999.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to become foster carers were refused on the basis of standard or enhanced disclosures in each year since 1999.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the introduction of disclosure and enhanced disclosure searches has had on the selection of foster carers.

Robert Brown: This information is not held centrally.

Fur Farming (Scotland) Act 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Fur Farming (Scotland) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Ross Finnie: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. No additional costs have been incurred as a result of the act.

Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Robert Brown: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. Much of work relating to the projected annual costs is still in progress. Comparable figures for actual costs are not therefore available yet.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place with regard to notifying the police of patients who have gone missing from NHS hospitals.

Lewis Macdonald: For restricted patients, guidance is contained in the working version of the Memorandum of Procedure on Restricted Patients at chapter 6. The guidance makes clear that the police should be immediately notified of the abscond or escape of a restricted patient. The guidance can be accessed on www.scotland.gov.uk/health/mentalhealthdivision .

  For all other patients who go missing, the development of procedures will be for the individual hospitals in conjunction with the police. This information is not held centrally.

Housing

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the preparatory work and ballot costs were for each ballot on local authority housing whole stock transfer since 1999.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who paid for the preparatory work and ballot costs for each ballot on local authority housing whole stock transfer since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive provides councils and RSLs with a grant to meet transfer support costs, including the costs associated with tenant consultation, conducting a ballot, conveyancing, etc. Since 2004, the level of financial assistance available to councils joining the community ownership programme has been based on a unit cost which ranges from £209 to £397 per unit depending on the total number of houses transferring. A separate grant ranging from £163 to £268 per unit is available for receiving landlords. These grants are not allocated to specific tasks and it is for the parties themselves to manage the entire transfer process within these amounts and, if necessary, to meet any additional costs from their own resources.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable will be for implementing the scheme of assistance for tenants of Glasgow Housing Association.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29398 on 17 November 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Although the Scheme of Assistance is intended to support property owners, tenants may in some circumstances be eligible for assistance, under section 92 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, for example, where a tenant is held to be responsible for certain works, or where building adaptations are needed in connection with an occupant’s disability and they are not provided by the landlord. It is unusual for such circumstances to apply to tenants of social landlords.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the scheme of assistance for tenants of Glasgow Housing Association will be retrospective.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29398 on 17 November 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The Scheme of Assistance provisions within the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 will not apply retrospectively as this would need specific powers which are not contained within that act.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed explanation of the help available under the scheme of assistance for housing purposes in respect of advice and assistance, practical help, loans and equity access products and grants.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the scheme of assistance for tenants of Glasgow Housing Association will be implemented.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  "Help for property owners available under the Scheme of Assistance, relating to part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 will be decided by local authorities within a framework of regulations and guidance produced in consultation with them. Development of that framework is at an early stage and it is not yet possible to provide a detailed explanation of the specific forms of assistance which might become available under the Scheme.

  The circular on the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 issued to local authorities (19 July 2006) estimated that Scheme of Assistance powers would be in force around early to mid-2007. These dates are subject to change as work progresses and decisions are taken on the scope of the scheme.

  Communities Scotland is committed to the principles of open government and publishes information about progress to implement the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 on the Communities Scotland website at www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk.

Housing

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties have been build on regeneration sites since 1999, broken down by type of property, also indicating how many were for (a) social housing and (b) private purchase.

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bungalows have been built in Scotland since 1999 either for social housing or private purchase.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases were reported to the Procurator Fiscal Service by the police in the last five years and, of these, how many resulted in a prosecution.

Elish Angiolini QC: Regularly updated statistics on cases reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are published on the department’s website see: www.copfs.gov.uk/About/corporate-info/Caseproclast5

  These statistics relate to all cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal, including cases reported by specialist reporting agencies such as TV Licensing, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and local authority trading standards departments.

Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon a) the Scottish Administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament's website.

  The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 will not come into force until 2009. So initial set up costs will not be known until after that point.

Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) costs have been to date since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament's website. Most of the provisions the act will not take effect before 2007 and some much later. Actual costings are not therefore available yet.

Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Executive Bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish Administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information actual initial set up costs and annual costs for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memoranda is as follows.

  

 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


 Nil
£87,000
 Nil
 Nil
 Nil
 Nil

Local Government Elections

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that the ballot paper to be used by voters in the 2007 local government elections is as straightforward and easy to understand as possible.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Single Transferable Vote system will be used in the local government elections in Scotland for the first time next year, and the Executive recognised that it was important to undertake research to ensure that the clearest format of ballot paper was used for these elections. The Executive therefore recently commissioned research into the design and layout of the ballot paper that will be used in May 2007. The research tested four ballot designs; two of which were based upon the alphabetical ordering of candidates by surname and two based on grouping candidates by party, in alphabetical order of party name.

  The research focussed on assessing responses with regard to clarity, ease of use and comprehension of each ballot paper. The clarity and value of the instructions on how to complete the ballot paper was also assessed. The main finding of the research was that a clear majority of participants favoured grouping candidates by party. I have published the results today at: www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/recent.

Local Government Finance

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its rules and guidance allow and encourage local authorities to be flexible when selling surplus assets to local community organisations by charging less than market value, when such sales are considered to benefit the community as a whole.

Mr Tom McCabe: Under Section 1(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003, local authorities are required to demonstrate "Best Value" in local government service provision by making the best use of public resources, including land and property - keeping a considered and appropriate balance between cost, quality and price.

  Any local authority wishing to dispose of surplus asset(s) for a consideration less than the best that can reasonably be obtained on the market, must also apply for ministerial consent under Section 74(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as currently in force. Under current guidance Section 74(2) guidance, consent will generally be given to a local authority to sell surplus assets to local community organisations where one of more of the following criteria have been met:

  
the intending buyer or lessee is performing a charitable or public service function to the benefit of the local community, and the local authority can show that the organisation or activity thus supported is consistent with public benefit and that the intending buyer or lessee is unable to afford the asset at its current valuation.
the intending buyer or lessee would be using the asset to promote economic development or regeneration within the council’s boundaries, such that the local authority can demonstrate a business case for the asset transfer at the discounted value.
the intending buyer or lessee is a public sector or voluntary body which intends to use the asset for public purpose, and the local authority can show that the activities thereby supported are consistent with the authority’s published policy objectives.
the local authority can demonstrate that the overall cost to the authority of the transfer is outweighed by consequent savings to the council in pursuing a published policy objective.
the value of the asset is low, such that the income forfeited by the transfer is less than the cost of maintaining the asset, and transfer is to be at nominal value with the purchaser paying the local authority’s legal expenses and costs of transfer.


  Section 11 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 has yet to be brought into force, but will amend section 74(2) of the 1973 act. Section 11 provides for local authorities to dispose of land for less than full value without seeking the prior consent of Scottish ministers, subject to a threshold amount being set in regulations.

  The Executive has consulted on draft regulations and is currently considering comments received.

Local Government Finance

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what constitutes a common good asset and how such assets differ from property or land owned by a local authority.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Common Good originated as revenues from properties belonging to the early Burghs of Scotland. The Common Good, as these revenues were then termed, is of great antiquity and there is no equivalent in English local government although the term remains current in Scotland. Essentially, the Common Good denoted all property of a Burgh not acquired under statutory powers or held under special trusts. Historically, the Common Good became a useful addition to the main revenues and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 empowered Counties and Burghs without a Common Good fund to set up a reserve to promote the general good of the inhabitants or dignity of the Burgh.

  Common good assets belonging to the Burghs of Scotland were incorporated into the new local government bodies set up under local government reform in 1975 and 1994 when the Burghs became part of District and Regional Councils and then councils.

  Due to the historical, non-statutory, nature of the Common Good, views on what may constitute a common good asset, as opposed to other property or land owned by a local authority, may in particular disputed cases have to be resolved. Section 75 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 provides that if a local authority wants to dispose of land forming part of the common good, where there is a question as to the right of the council to dispose of the land, the council may apply to the Court of Session or the sheriff court to authorise the council to dispose of the land. The court have discretion to authorise disposal, subject to such conditions as they may impose. This statutory provision applies to common good land, not other land held by a council.

  All local authorities are required, by the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, to adhere to proper accounting practices and the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom – Statement of Recommended Practice requires that common good accounts should be shown separately.

Local Government in Scotland Act 2003

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Executive Bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish Administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information, actual initial set up costs and annual costs for the year 2005-06, in the same categories as the Financial Memorandum, are as follows.

  

 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


£1.65 million
 -
 -
£11.0 million
£0.5 million
 -

Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. No additional costs have been incurred as a result of the act except in relation to those who chose to apply to a local authority for a place to be approved as a venue for civil marriages, and by couples who chose to pay for the attendance of a registrar to solemnise their marriage at that venue.

Mental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many psychological treatment centres there are in Scotland, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

Ministerial Visits

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27954 by Mr Tom McCabe on 18 October 2006, whether the answer indicates that it has recorded no dates for ministerial visits to the Scottish Borders since 1999 by (a) Robert Brown MSP, (b) Ross Finnie MSP, (c) George Lyon MSP, (d) Euan Robson MSP, (e) Tavish Scott MSP, (f) Iain Smith MSP, (g) Nicol Stephen MSP and (h) Jim Wallace MSP.

Mr Tom McCabe: The dates recorded are shown in the table below in chronological order. The information has been gathered from the various Ministerial Private Offices and is as complete as our records allow. Different Private Offices record and retain information in different ways which is perfectly acceptable for our business purposes, but does not allow us to easily extract the information requested.

  

 Name of Minister
 Title
 Date


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 08/10/1999


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 12/10/1999


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 21/10/1999


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 03/04/2000


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 12/07/2000


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 13/07/2000


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 Unspecified date March/April 2001


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 18/05/2001


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 21/06/2001


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 25/07/2001


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 26/07/2001


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 02/08/2001


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 16/08/2001


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 20/08/2001


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 05/03/2002


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 29/05/2002


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 27/08/2002


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 28/08/2002


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 03/02/2003


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 04/02/2003


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 21/02/2003


 Tavish Scott
 Deputy Minister Finance Public Service Reform 
 11/08/2003


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 31/10/2003


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 03/02/2004



  

 Name of Minister
 Title
 Date


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 09/02/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 12/02/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 15/04/2004


 Tavish Scott
 Deputy Minister Finance Public Service Reform 
 15/04/2004


 Nicol Stephen
 Minister for Transport 
 20/04/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 07/05/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 14/05/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 07/06/2004


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 11/06/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 14/06/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 15/06/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 12/11/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 15/11/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 06/12/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 10/12/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 13/12/2004


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 05/03/2005


 Robert Brown
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 05/03/2005 


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 11/03/2005


 Nicol Stephen
 Minister for Transport 
 14/03/2005


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 23/05/2005


 Jim Wallace
 Deputy First Minister
 10/06/2005


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 27/06/2005


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 28/07/2005


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 29/07/2005


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 16/09/2005


 Tavish Scott
 Minister for Transport 
 12/12/2005


 Nicol Stephen
 Deputy First Minister
 27/03/2006


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 22/08/2006


 Euan Robson
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 23/08/2006


 Robert Brown
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young People 
 23/08/2006 


 George Lyon
 Deputy Minister Finance Public Service Reform and Parly Business
 24/08/2006


 Ross Finnie
 Minister for Environment and Rural Development 
 13/09/2006


 Tavish Scott
 Minister for Transport 
 13/09/2006

NHS Hospitals

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider communicating an external inquiry into the management of NHS Ayrshire and Arran, in light of the number of patients who have gone missing this year from Ailsa Hospital.

Lewis Macdonald: We have appointed an Inquiry Panel to look at the circumstances surrounding the recent absconds of a restricted patient from Ailsa Hospital, Ayr. The panel will review the robustness of the hospital’s risk management plan and the decisions and events leading up to the absconds. The panel will report to the Executive by the end of this year. Any further action will be considered in the light of that report.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there were for newly qualified midwives in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally. Information on those vacancies suitable for newly qualified midwives are held by individual NHS boards in Scotland.

  However, Table 1 shows the whole time equivalent number of registered vacancies within maternity services at 31 March 2006. These are largely accounted for by Registered Midwives.

  Table 1

  

 
 Whole-Time Equivalent (WTE)


 Scotland
 46.2


 NHS Argyll and Clyde
 1.0


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 1.3


 NHS Borders
 -


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 3.0


 NHS Fife
 0.7


 NHS Forth Valley
 -


 NHS Grampian
 10.1


 NHS Greater Glasgow
 17.0


 NHS Highland
 4.6


 NHS Lanarkshire
 2.5


 NHS Lothian
 1.0


 NHS Orkney
 -


 NHS Shetland 
 -


 NHS Tayside
 4.0


 NHS Western Isles
 1.0



  Source: ISD Scotland, NHS Workforce Statistics. Latest available data is at 31 March 2006.

  Note: 1. The vacancy figures relate to posts vacant at 31 March, irrespective of when the vacancy arose.

  Further information on the statistics, including information on how the data are collected and notes to aid interpretation, is given in the Background Notes document on the Workforce Statistics homepage at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

NHS Waiting Times

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it has given, and is giving, to NHS Lothian to reduce waiting times.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Health Department has provided, and is continuing to provide a wide range of advice, assistance and support, including funding where appropriate, to NHS Lothian in connection with its work to redesign services, improve access and reduce waiting times. This includes funding and support through the Diagnostic Collaborative Programme, the Eye Care Redesign and Cataract Delivery Programme and the Planned Care Programme. Limited financial assistance has also been given towards the costs of treating NHS patients in the independent healthcare sector. NHS Lothian is also able to make use of the facilities provided by the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.

  NHS Lothian is making very good progress in reducing the longest waiting times experienced by patients. The board is consistently delivering the national maximum waiting times of six months for first out-patient appointments and for hospital in-patient and day case treatment, and is on course to reduce these to 18 weeks by the end of 2007. In the past year it has reduced the number of patients with a guarantee waiting over 18 weeks for in-patient/day case treatment by almost 65% and the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for a first out-patient appointment by over 61%.

NHS Waiting Times

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that NHS Lothian’s performance is satisfactory in terms of waiting times and waiting list management.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Lothian is continuing to provide improvements in waiting times for patients. The board is consistently delivering the national maximum waiting times of six months for first out-patient appointments and for hospital in-patient and day case treatment, and is on course to reduce these to 18 weeks by the end of 2007. In the past year it has reduced the number of patients with a guarantee waiting over 18 weeks for in-patient/day case treatment by almost 65% and the number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for a first out-patient appointment by over 61%.

National Health Service

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1303 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 July 2003, how many episodes of care English residents have received as out-patients, in-patients or day cases in NHS Scotland facilities in each year since 2002.

Mr Andy Kerr: The numbers of new out-patient appointments and episodes of in-patient day-case care that English residents have received in NHS Scotland facilities between 2002 and 2006 are shown in Table 1, broken down by data source.

  Table 1: New Out-Patient Appointments and In-Patient/Day Case Episodes of Care that English Residents have Received in NHS Scotland facilities

  Years Ending 31 March 2002-06

  

 Year ending 31 March
 Out-Patients
 Acute Discharges
 Maternity Discharges
 Neonatal Discharges


 
 New Out-Patient Appointments
 In-Patient Episodes
 Day Case Episodes
 In-patient episodes
 In-Patient Episodes


 2002
 2,203
 5,090
 557
 265
 39


 2003
 2,197
 5,256
 436
 274
 38


 2004
 2,168
 5,305
 472
 262
 18


 2005
 2,254
 5,592
 481
 229
 32


 2006P
 2,133
 5,113
 520
 212
 21



  PProvisional data.

  "Year" refers to: "year of clinic" (out-patients) or "year of discharge" (in-patients/day cases).

  Additional Notes:

  Information is drawn from the following sources. Note that the schemes are not mutually exclusive and the same patient may appear in more than one of them:

  (a) SMR00 - out-patient appointments (excludes accident and emergency and Genito-urinary Medicine). The figures refer only to new out-patient appointments at consultant-led clinics and include patients who did not attend (DNA) for their appointments. Return out-patient appointments, and appointments at clinics led by nurses and health professionals other than consultants, are excluded because the recording of such activity is currently under development (and is therefore incomplete at present).

  (b) SMR01 - in-patient/day case discharges from acute (non-obstetric/non-psychiatric) specialties.

  (c) SMR02 – maternity in-patient and day case discharges.

  (d) SMR11/SBR (Scottish Birth Record) – neonatal discharges.

  2. The same patient may have more than one new out-patient appointment or episode of care and, as a result, every appointment or episode will be counted each time.

  3. For episodes of care spanning more than one year, the end-point of the episode determines the year to which it is attributed.

  4. English residents have been identified by their postcode of residence. This approach to selecting English residents is more specific than that taken in S2W-1303, where the figures quoted also included a small proportion of patients resident in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Police

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many citizens have information held about them by police that may be made available through disclosure or enhanced disclosure requests.

Cathy Jamieson: On 31 October 2006 the Scottish Criminal Record Office Criminal History System (CHS) included 1,019,600 nominal records.

  This includes details of criminal convictions in Scotland and flags alerting Disclosure Scotland and other users to non-conviction information held by the police on other databases including the Scottish Intelligence Database.

  Disclosure Scotland also checks the Police National Computer which includes details of criminal convictions across the United Kingdom.

Police

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to ensure that information or intelligence held by the police, which might be disclosed through a standard or enhanced disclosure request, has not been maliciously supplied.

Cathy Jamieson: Only the enhanced disclosure can include non-conviction information.

  The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), in liaison with their counterparts in England and Wales, has published a Code of Practice and National Manual for the Recording and Dissemination of Intelligence Material. This takes account of the provisions in the Data Protection Act 1998 which require that personal data should not be kept longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was acquired. This Code of Practice provides overarching guidelines on creating and retaining intelligence material which formed the basis of the national policy for the creation and weeding of records on the Scottish Intelligence Database (SID).

Police

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider placing a requirement on the police to give reasons for the retention of information or intelligence which might be disclosed through standard or enhanced disclosure requests.

Cathy Jamieson: The police hold information for the purposes of preventing or detecting crime. Information that is held by them for any period of time is subject to regular review and reassessment which can lead to it being removed or retained.

Police

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to standard or enhanced disclosure requests, whether it will consider placing a duty on bodies, to whom information is disclosed, to justify the action they take following receipt of information that does not relate to a conviction.

Cathy Jamieson: Non-conviction information is only available with the enhanced disclosure for posts such as those involving work with children or adults at risk, and it is for the employer to decide how information provided by Disclosure Scotland is used.

  We have issued a Code of Practice with an accompanying explanatory guide for recipients of the information. These publications remind recipients about the need for fairness when using the information in their decision-making process and also about how the information should be handled, stored and destroyed. In addition, the Police Act 1997 has a specific offence relating to the misuse of disclosure information by recipients.

Prison Service

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that a decision will be made on the planning application appeal in respect of HM Prison Low Moss.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Reporter appointed to conduct the inquiry is presently considering the evidence led at the inquiry and the written submissions of the parties. Thereafter, the Reporter will submit a detailed report with recommendations to Scottish ministers, in early December, for their consideration. Every effort will be made thereafter to issue an early decision.

Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the Act came into force, in each category.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Financial Memorandum which accompanied the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The purpose of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 was to set a framework within which financial decisions could be made and their consequences monitored. The Financial Memorandum indicated that there would be no additional costs arising from the provisions in the bill. Actual costs are reported publicly by Audit Scotland.

Public Private Partnerships

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected expenditure by local authorities on preparing business cases for PPP projects is in 2006 and how much was spent on preparing such business cases in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority.

Mr Tom McCabe: This is a matter for local authorities when considering PPP projects. The information requested is not held centrally.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much support and funding has been provided for bus routes and services in (a) Scotland and (b) Edinburgh in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The following table sets out the relevant figures:

  

 
 *a Support for Buses GAE (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 1,979
 1,877
 1,954
 2,068
 2,173
 2,266
 2,351


 Scotland
 22,526
 21,349
 22,141
 23,438
 24,626
 25,558
 26,521



  

 
 *b Public Transport and Integrated Transport Funds (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 800
 8,468
 0
 18,093
 0
 0
 0


 Scotland
 28,770
 19,269
 30,910
 51,031
 0
 125
 7,078



  

 
 *c Bus Service Operators Grant (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 Scotland
 45,196
 49,262
 49,512
 49,641
 52,740
 56,121
 56,636



  

 
 *d Bus Route Development Grant (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 
 
 
 
 
 
 336


 Scotland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,986



  

 
 *e Rural Community Transport Initiative (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scotland
 885
 900
 800
 900
 1,000
 1,300
 2,000



  

 
 *e Rural Public Passenger Transport Scheme (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Scotland
 3,500
 3,700
 4,300
 4,700
 5,100
 5,800
 6,100



  

 
 *f Demand Responsive Transport (£000)


 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Edinburgh
 
 
 
 
 150
 145
 145


 Scotland
 
 
 
 
 600
 925
 895



  Notes:

  *a. GAE provision for Support for Buses is not money, budgets or spending targets, rather it is the methodology for allocating funding to local authorities. Local authorities receive their funding through the core local government finance settlement as a largely unhypothecated block grant, from which they have the autonomy to allocate funding according to local needs and priorities while taking account of their statutory obligations.

  *b. Local authorities have been awarded capital funding for bus measures under both the Public Transport and Integrated Transport Funds. These figures represent projects which were predominantly aimed at bus, but include elements involving other modes. Due to the integrated nature of the awards the costs for non-bus measures cannot be separated out from the total amounts shown. Projects which were predominantly aimed at transport modes other than bus have been excluded on the same basis.

  *c. Bus Service Operators Grant is paid to all operators of local registered bus services. Figures cannot be given below the level of Scotland as this information is very commercially sensitive and as such it would not be in the public interest for it to be disclosed.

  *d. Spend under the Bus Route Development Grant Scheme commenced in financial year 2005-06.

  *e. Edinburgh does not benefit from the Rural Community Transport Initiative or the Rural Public Passenger Transport Scheme as these schemes were aimed at Rural transport authorities. The schemes support various types of rural transport services, including buses. It is not possible to give the amount spent solely on bus services without disproportionate cost.

  *f. The Demand Responsive Transport scheme commenced in 2003-04 to pilot rural and urban demand responsive transport services.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided to establish park-and-ride schemes for Edinburgh in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The following table gives the level of funding allocated to the City of Edinburgh Council by the Scottish Executive under the Public Transport Fund for rail and bus based park-and-ride schemes:

  

 (£ Million)
2001-02/2002-03
Allocation
2003-04
Expenditure
2004-05
Expenditure
2005-06
Expenditure
2006-07
Allocation


 Newcraighall Park and Ride (part of Edinburgh CrossRail)
 1.3271
 
 
 
 


 Hermiston Park and Ride
 
 0.037
 0.034
 0.963
 


 Straiton Park and Ride2
 1.3863
 
 
 
 0.9244



  Notes:

  1. Funding was given as additional consent to borrow; it is not possible to split between financial years.

  2. Although the Straiton Park and Ride site is within the Midlothian Council area, it will mainly serve commuters travelling into Edinburgh. Midlothian Council is due to complete a park and ride site at Sherrifhall in 2006-07, with funding of £1 million from the Executive, which will also serve journeys into Edinburgh.

  3. The funding shown was given to the City of Edinburgh Council in the form of additional consent to borrow. In view of delays in progressing Straiton Park and Ride, this funding was allowed to be carried forward into later years.

  4. The remaining allocation is likely to be carried forward into 2007-08 and combined with separate funding from SESTRAN to complete the project.

  All the projects received additional funding from other sources.

Public Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are of rate relief to businesses affected by the Edinburgh trams project in each year of construction and whether agreement has been reached on this issue and, if so, with whom and on whose authority.

Tavish Scott: This is entirely a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council as promoter of the Edinburgh Tram project. We are very pleased that agreement has been reached on this matter and the overall project is continuing according to programme.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to re-opening a railway station in Portobello; what it estimates the cost would be of opening such a station, and what its reasons are for not yet having opened a station.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has no plans to re-open a railway station in Portobello and has made no estimation of the cost associated with such a station. Regional Transport Partnerships are best placed to assess their local transport needs in conjunction with rail industry partners and proposals of this nature are normally developed by such bodies before being submitted to Transport Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether hydro schemes proposed by communities or community organisations will be eligible for assistance under any replacement for the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme.

Ross Finnie: The consideration of any continuation or replacement for the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme depends on decisions on the Aggregates Levy still to be announced by the Chancellor, and on subsequent decisions by Scottish ministers on distribution of any funds. Given these circumstances it is not possible to say at present whether hydro schemes proposed by communities or community organisations would be eligible for assistance.

  The Scottish Executive is currently undertaking a review of funding for local environmental regeneration projects. The outcomes of this review will inform decisions on the future of the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme after March 2007.

  Community hydro schemes are already eligible for funding under the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI). The scheme, which supports a range of community organisations, provides support for technical assistance as well as capital grants.

Road Accidents

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hit-and-run incidents have been recorded in each police board area in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: Comprehensive statistics of hit-and-run incidents are not held centrally. However, some information is available from data supplied by police forces in their Stats 19 injury road accident statistics returns. These cover only accidents involving personal injury which become known to the police, and so do not include (i) accidents which were not reported by the public to the police or (ii) accidents which do not involve personal injury. The following tables provide this information. Table (a) provides the numbers of reported accidents for which the only vehicle involved was a "hit and run" one; Table (b) provides the total numbers of reported accidents which involved "hit and run" vehicles, including all the accidents which are counted in Table (a). The police forces are listed in the order in which they appear in Road Accidents Scotland , which provides further information about the statistics.

  Reported injury accidents which involved at least one vehicle for which the Stats 19 code for "hit and run" was used

  (a) Those Which Involved Only One Vehicle

  

Police Force
 Year


 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 11
 8
 16
 12
 11
 8
 8


 Grampian
 39
 38
 35
 29
 32
 35
 26


 Tayside
 21
 23
 23
 26
 11
 18
 18


 Fife
 17
 8
 25
 19
 23
 29
 22


 Lothian and Borders
 90
 84
 91
 86
 96
 101
 86


 Central
 13
 10
 11
 10
 12
 9
 15


 Strathclyde
 220
 234
 228
 242
 215
 211
 193


 Dumfries and Galloway
 10
 8
 15
 10
 7
 12
 10



  (b) All Such Accidents

  

 Police Force
 Year


 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 25
 18
 33
 22
 22
 16
 19


 Grampian
 71
 82
 77
 60
 61
 75
 67


 Tayside
 67
 46
 63
 55
 29
 39
 48


 Fife
 26
 20
 43
 34
 45
 45
 34


 Lothian and Borders
 206
 215
 232
 239
 245
 220
 216


 Central
 27
 22
 30
 27
 29
 22
 30


 Strathclyde
 516
 559
 525
 570
 522
 504
 421


 Dumfries and Galloway
 17
 21
 31
 22
 22
 22
 25

Road Accidents

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions for hit-and-run incidents there have been in each police board area in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally. Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) driver deaths, (b) pedestrian deaths, (c) motorcyclist deaths, (d) cyclist deaths, (e) driver injuries, (f) pedestrian injuries, (g) motorcyclist injuries, (h) cyclist injuries and (i) non-fatal or injurious road accidents there have been in each police board area since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The following tables give the information that was requested for (a) to (g). The figures were produced from data supplied by police forces in their Stats 19 injury road accident statistics returns, so will not include injuries in accidents which were not reported by the public to the police. In these statistics, "killed" includes death within 30 days as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The figures for "drivers" cover all drivers and riders apart from the riders of motorcycles and pedal cycles, so may include a small number of riders of other types of vehicle or transport. The police forces are listed in the order in which they appear in Road Accidents Scotland , which provides further information about the statistics.

  Information on (i) is not available: there are no national statistics on non-injury accidents.

  (a) Drivers Killed in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 18
 18
 15
 13
 11
 17
 14


 Grampian
 16
 25
 16
 19
 25
 25
 29


 Tayside
 21
 14
 22
 15
 19
 14
 13


 Fife
 8
 3
 10
 7
 6
 7
 7


 Lothian and Borders
 21
 25
 17
 13
 18
 14
 16


 Central
 4
 10
 9
 6
 8
 7
 7


 Strathclyde
 35
 37
 48
 35
 34
 37
 25


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5
 10
 5
 10
 6
 6
 9



  (b) Pedestrians Killed in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 7
 5
 3
 4
 3
 2
 2


 Grampian
 9
 6
 10
 6
 2
 8
 7


 Tayside
 7
 4
 9
 5
 1
 3
 5


 Fife
 3
 3
 5
 6
 6
 12
 2


 Lothian and Borders
 18
 11
 11
 13
 11
 8
 9


 Central
 3
 4
 5
 6
 4
 4
 5


 Strathclyde
 40
 38
 31
 30
 36
 37
 35


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2
 1
 2
 3
 0
 1
 1



  (c) Motorcycle Riders Killed in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 1
 11
 6
 2
 9
 6
 4


 Grampian
 6
 6
 13
 11
 6
 5
 7


 Tayside
 2
 2
 3
 4
 3
 3
 7


 Fife
 1
 2
 3
 5
 5
 3
 1


 Lothian and Borders
 4
 5
 4
 6
 8
 6
 4


 Central
 2
 2
 1
 6
 3
 2
 2


 Strathclyde
 12
 10
 15
 10
 12
 14
 8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 0
 3
 2
 2
 0
 0



  (d) Pedal Cycle Riders Killed in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 2
 3
 0
 2
 2
 1
 2


 Grampian
 1
 2
 2
 1
 4
 0
 3


 Tayside
 2
 0
 3
 0
 2
 1
 2


 Fife
 0
 1
 0
 2
 1
 1
 0


 Lothian and Borders
 1
 2
 2
 0
 2
 3
 0


 Central
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 1
 0


 Strathclyde
 2
 3
 2
 2
 3
 0
 8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 1
 1
 1
 0
 0
 1



  (e) Drivers Injured (Non-Fatally) in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 604
 525
 565
 482
 567
 564
 557


 Grampian
 671
 735
 677
 685
 696
 680
 725


 Tayside
 732
 653
 728
 740
 662
 665
 585


 Fife
 400
 484
 432
 471
 464
 467
 427


 Lothian and Borders
 1,591
 1,649
 1,606
 1,515
 1,476
 1,491
 1,497


 Central
 415
 404
 375
 470
 510
 419
 407


 Strathclyde
 3,924
 3,784
 3,689
 3,614
 3,585
 3,562
 3,255


 Dumfries and Galloway
 276
 304
 275
 272
 317
 315
 355



  (f) Pedestrians Injured (Non-Fatally) in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 116
 89
 95
 83
 92
 94
 100


 Grampian
 264
 234
 229
 197
 176
 204
 231


 Tayside
 270
 249
 252
 224
 176
 218
 179


 Fife
 169
 178
 169
 142
 133
 143
 139


 Lothian and Borders
 761
 810
 736
 751
 617
 641
 623


 Central
 157
 118
 108
 133
 116
 106
 123


 Strathclyde
 1,881
 1,806
 1,674
 1,629
 1,558
 1,517
 1,510


 Dumfries and Galloway
 56
 46
 67
 83
 58
 73
 63



  (g) Motorcycle Riders Injured (Non-Fatally) in Road Accidents

  

 Police Force Area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 93
 89
 90
 107
 96
 88
 112


 Grampian
 130
 143
 107
 126
 103
 106
 123


 Tayside
 103
 90
 98
 91
 83
 61
 85


 Fife
 50
 74
 53
 74
 64
 57
 56


 Lothian and Borders
 190
 236
 257
 216
 235
 232
 204


 Central
 56
 63
 58
 66
 60
 60
 48


 Strathclyde
 256
 287
 336
 322
 303
 254
 306


 Dumfries and Galloway
 25
 37
 39
 30
 38
 30
 35



  (g) Pedal Cycle Riders Injured (Non-Fatally) In Road Accidents

  

 Police Force area
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Northern
 56
 44
 50
 48
 35
 41
 35


 Grampian
 88
 76
 74
 75
 67
 55
 73


 Tayside
 85
 62
 69
 62
 54
 63
 56


 Fife
 57
 44
 49
 26
 45
 35
 31


 Lothian and Borders
 296
 265
 265
 264
 212
 215
 221


 Central
 49
 43
 50
 34
 48
 39
 38


 Strathclyde
 351
 308
 316
 279
 284
 298
 282


 Dumfries and Galloway
 17
 21
 26
 21
 31
 12
 21

Road Signs

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of providing Gaelic road signs in the Highlands in each year since 2003.

Tavish Scott: The following table shows the cost of providing Gaelic road signs in the Highlands in each financial year since 2002-03:

  

 Financial Year
 Amounts


 2002-03
£50,000


 2003-04
£370,000


 2004-05
£360,000


 2005-06
£191,500


 2006-07 to date
£188,000



  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

School Education (Amendment) (Scotland) 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the School Education (Amendment) (Scotland) 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Robert Brown: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The Executive is not aware of any costs having been incurred as a result of the act.

School Education (Ministerial Powers and Independent Schools) (Scotland) Act 2004

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the School Education (Ministerial Powers and Independent Schools) (Scotland) Act 2004 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Robert Brown: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. No additional costs were incurred up to the end of the 2005-06 financial year. Comparable annual costs are therefore not yet available.

Schools

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which primary schools have (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 1990.

Robert Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18439 on 13 September 2005 which included a list of primary school openings and closings, both local authority and independent, for the calendar years 1995 to part way through 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  As indicated in that answer, the information is derived from data collected annually by the Scottish Executive Education Department on the opening and closing of schools. Systematic information on the opening and closing of schools was not collected before June 1995.

  The tables which follow supplement the information on primary schools provided in the earlier answer with details for the whole of 2005 and for 2006 to date.

  The provision of school accommodation is a dynamic process, reflecting the decisions of local authorities across Scotland in response to a wide range of factors, and school openings and closings need to be considered in that context. For example, a number of the closures listed represent schools which have merged to form new schools, often in new buildings, or which are moving site.

  Table 1: Primary Schools Opened, by Year

  

 Education Authority Area
 School


 2005 (entire)
 


 Dundee City
 Claypotts Castle Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Currie Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Canal View Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Pentland Primary School


 Fife
 Sathya Sai School*


 West Lothian
 Cawburn Community Primary School


 2006 (to date)
 


 Aberdeenshire
 Hill of Banchory Primary School


 Glasgow
 Ardsgoil Glasgow Gaelic School


 Glasgow
 Camstradden Primary School


 North Lanarkshire
 John Paul II Primary School



  Note: * Denotes Independent School.

  Table 2: Primary Schools Closed, by Year

  

 Education Authority Area
 School


 2005 (entire)
 


 Aberdeenshire
 Cairnorrie Primary School


 Aberdeenshire
 Braeside School


 Aberdeenshire
 New Byth School


 Angus
 Dun Primary School


 Angus
 Pitkennedy Primary School


 Dumfries and Galloway
 Wamphray School


 Dumfries and Galloway
 Eskdalemuir Primary School


 Dundee City
 Douglas Primary School


 Dundee City
 Powrie Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Comiston Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Dumbryden Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Hailesland Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Hunter’s Tryst Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Curriehill Primary School


 Edinburgh City
 Riccarton Primary School


 Eilean Siar
 Berneray Primary School


 Fife
 Kemback Primary School


 Fife
 Blacklaw Primary School


 Fife
 Seaview Private School*


 Fife
 New Park School*


 Glasgow City
 Holmlea Primary School


 Glasgow City
 St Margaret Mary’s Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Simshill Primary School


 Glasgow City
 St Martin’s Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Tormusk Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Dairsie House School *


 Highland
 Soay Primary School


 Inverclyde
 King’s Glen Primary School


 North Lanarkshire
 St James’ Primary School


 Scottish Borders
 Glen Douglas Primary School


 Scottish Borders
 Burnmouth Primary School


 Scottish Borders
 Hutton Primary School


 West Lothian
 Pumpherston Primary School


 West Lothian
 Uphall Station Infant School


 
 


 2006 (to date)
 


 Aberdeen City
 Braeside Nursery and Infant School


 Fife
 Creich Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Barlanark Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Maryhill Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Ogilvie Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Pinewood Primary School


 Glasgow City
 St Jerome’s Primary School


 Glasgow City
 St John’s Primary School


 Glasgow City
 St Robert’s Primary School


 Glasgow City
 Summerhill Primary School


 Glasgow City
 St Edmund’s Primary School


 North Lanarkshire
 Albert Primary School


 North Lanarkshire
 Burnhead Primary School


 North Lanarkshire
 St Columba’s Primary School


 North Lanarkshire
 St Gabriel’s Primary School



  Note: *Denotes Independent School.

Schools

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which secondary schools have (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 1990.

Robert Brown: I refer the member to the question S2W-18439 on 13 September 2005 which included a list of secondary school openings and closings, both local authority and independent, for the calendar years 1995 to part way through 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  As indicated in that answer, the information is derived from data collected annually by the Scottish Executive Education Department on the opening and closing of schools. Systematic information on the opening and closing of schools was not collected before June 1995.

  The tables which follow supplement the information on secondary schools provided in the earlier answer with details for the whole of 2005 and for 2006 to date.

  The provision of school accommodation is a dynamic process, reflecting the decisions of local authorities across Scotland in response to a wide range of factors, and school openings and closings need to be considered in that context. For example, a number of the closures listed represent schools which have merged to form new schools, often in new buildings, or which are moving site.

  Table 1: Secondary Schools Opened, By Year

  

 Education Authority Area
 School


 2005
 


 Fife
 Osborne House School *


 Highland
 Moray Firth School *


 Highland
 Scoraig School (Secondary Department)


 South Lanarkshire
 St Andrew's and St Bride's High School


 2006 (to date)
 


 East Dunbartonshire
 Bishopbriggs Academy


 North Lanarkshire
 St Andrew’s High School


 Renfrewshire
 St Benedict’s High School



  Note: * Denotes Independent School

  Table 2: Secondary Schools Closed, By Year

  

 Education Authority Area
 School


 2005
 


 Fife
 New Park School *


 South Lanarkshire
 Ballerup High School


 South Lanarkshire
 St Bride's High School


 South Lanarkshire
 St Andrew's High School


 2006 (to date)
 


 Dumfries and Galloway
 Cademuir International School


 Dundee City
 Imam Muhammed Zakariya School *


 East Dunbartonshire
 Bishopbriggs High School


 East Dunbartonshire
 Thomas Muir High School


 North Lanarkshire
 Coatbridge High School


 North Lanarkshire
 Columba High School


 North Lanarkshire
 St Patrick’s High School


 Renfrewshire
 St Cuthbert’s High School


 Renfrewshire
 St Brendan’s High School


 West Dunbartonshire
 Braidfield High School



  Note: *Denotes Independent School.

Scottish Executive Budget

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its programmes did not perform well in each year since 2004-05; what these programmes were, and what the total spend was for each such programme.

Mr Tom McCabe: All programmes are open to audit by Audit Scotland and scrutiny by the Committees of this Parliament, where issues about performance can be explored fully.

  Draft Budget 2007-08: Final Report on Spending Review 2002 Targets, published on 8 September 2006, reports on progress against the targets set as part of the 2002 Spending Review. It noted that a number of targets had not been met.

Scottish Executive Departments

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new efficiency programmes it has (a) identified and (b) implemented since November 2005.

Mr Tom McCabe: We have only one efficiency programme in Scotland, and we are now in the second year of that three year programme. As part of the Efficient Government initiative we have identified 71 projects, so far, with the total value for these efficiency projects standing at £1,271 million.

  Details of all efficiency projects and the efficiency gains achieved to-date are available in the Efficiency Technical Notes and the Efficiency Outturn Report for 2005-06 and both published and available on the Scottish Executive website.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/03/31095821/0.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/efficientgovernment.

Scottish Executive Legislation

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which areas of policy or legislation it requires to seek the approval of, or consult, the Privy Council.

Margaret Curran: The Executive seeks the approval of the Privy Council only when submitting draft Orders in Council for making by Her Majesty the Queen. Acts of the Scottish Parliament normally provide for subordinate legislation to be made by Order In Council where it would be inappropriate for that secondary legislation to be made by the Scottish Ministers.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what ethical guidelines it uses when considering the issuing of contracts to outside companies.

Mr Tom McCabe: Suppliers to the Executive are expected to maintain high standards of business and professional conduct e.g. in relation to legislative requirements on the environment, equal opportunities, race relations, health and safety, employment and taxation. Where a bidder fails to comply with relevant legal obligations consideration is given as to whether it should be excluded from competition.

  The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 came into force earlier this year. In accordance with these Regulations, the Executive does not invite companies to bid for contracts if the company, or any of its Directors have been convicted of a range of offences including conspiracy in a criminal organisation, corruption, bribery, incitement to commit a crime, theft or fraud, money laundering and taxation fraud.

  When considering who to invite to bid for its contracts the Executive also considers, amongst other things, whether the company or any of its directors has committed an act of grave misconduct in the course of the operation of the business or has been convicted of a criminal offence relating to the conduct of the business, or any failure to meet obligations in respect of social security payments or taxes.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any contracts with the Eden Springs water company and, if so, whether it is aware of reports that Eden Springs is in violation of international law by exploiting the water resources of the Golan Heights and, if so, whether it will reconsider its contracts on that basis and, if not, whether it will reconsider its contract should it become aware of any such allegations.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has a contract for the provision of bottled water with Eden Springs (UK) Ltd. Eden Springs (UK) Ltd is a UK registered company and has not, to the best of our knowledge, committed any offences under national or international laws. Water supplied to the Executive under its contract with Eden Springs (UK) Ltd is sourced in Scotland.

Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Act 2001

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Act 2001 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish Administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information on actual initial set up and annual costs after the Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Act 2001 came into force, the annual cost for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memorandum is as follows:

  

 Financial Memoranda
 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other
 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -



  The Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering) Act 2001 merely removes a time limit on the period during which the provisions about competition in the Local Government Act 1988 may be modified in relation to local authorities.

  The Financial Memorandum indicates that the bill involves no costs to the Scottish Administration, local authorities, other bodies, individuals and businesses.

Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

George Lyon: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The Executive is not aware of any significant costs having been incurred since the act came into force.

Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) costs have been to date since the act came into force, in each category.

Robert Brown: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament's website. The first sections of the act commenced in September 2006. Actual costings are not therefore available yet.

Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Amendment (Scotland) Act 2000

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Amendment (Scotland) Act 2000 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Ross Finnie: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The Executive is not aware of any additional costs having been incurred as a result of the act.

Sexual Offences

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many formal disclosures of confidential information concerning registered sex offenders have been made to third parties under the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 by each police force in each year since the provisions came into force.

Cathy Jamieson: The extent to which information is made available to relevant parties, is an operational matter for the police to determine and on a case by case basis. In all circumstances, the police assess the risk of harm an offender poses and disclose relevant information where it is the most appropriate way to protect the public generally or any individuals in particular. That assessment is kept under review particularly when an offender fails to comply with requirements placed upon them.

  Professor George Irving in his report Registering the Risk, published last autumn, recommended that the existing disclosure powers be strengthened by the introduction of a warning system to regulate the activities and behaviours of registered sex offenders. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland has acted upon that recommendation and is putting in place a system of controlled disclosure as part of operational guidance to support consistency and effective management of registered sex offenders.

Smoking

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to inform pregnant women of the dangers of smoking and its harmful effect on children.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive allocates £1.5 million each year to NHS Health Scotland to deliver tobacco control education and communications programmes. Last month (October 2006) NHS Health Scotland launched a new Smokeline advertisement on quitting smoking during pregnancy along with a complementary DVD to encourage pregnant women to use their local smoking cessation services.

  NHS Health Scotland also produce a selection of information leaflets about smoking in pregnancy and the risks associated with second hand tobacco smoke which are widely distributed to doctors’ surgeries and NHS hospitals.

  The Executive has identified pregnant women as a priority group for NHS smoking cessation services and set a target to reduce smoking prevalence in pregnancy to 20% by 2010.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of support and financial subsidy it has allocated to support and promote public transport links to the site of the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive awarded the City of Edinburgh Council £10.5 million from the fifth and final round of the Public Transport Fund (PTF) in 2002 for its Improving Access to Employment and Growth Areas public transport programme in the west, north and east of the city.

  The programme includes the construction of a bus link road from the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to Craigmillar. Although the PTF award was given for the whole of the programme, and no provision has therefore been allocated specifically for the link road element, the Council’s original costing for it was approximately £1.4 million. Due to delays in progressing the project, most of the allocation remains unspent and is likely to be carried forward into financial year 2007-08.

  Two bus routes serving the new Royal Infirmary, both run by Lothian Buses, have also been allocated funding from the Executive’s Bus Route Development Grant Scheme. These are service 24, Edinburgh Park to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary via Davidson’s Mains, which was allocated £116,287 in total over financial years 2005-06 to 2007-08; and service x48, Ratho to Edinburgh City Centre, to be extended to the Sherrifhall Park and Ride site via Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, which was allocated £943,000 in total over financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09.

Transport

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what legal basis Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perth and Kinross, Glasgow and South Lanarkshire councils collect fines from motorists who breach parking regulations in car parks.

Tavish Scott: Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Glasgow and South Lanarkshire Councils have powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Road Traffic Act 1991, as amended to impose penalty charge notices on motorists who breach parking regulations in local authority controlled car parks.

  The City of Edinburgh Council does not have any local authority controlled off street car parks.

Transport

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice on the legal basis on which to issue fines for breaching parking regulations in car parks it has given to local authorities that have chosen to appoint their own parking warden services.

Tavish Scott: The interpretation of legislation is a matter for the individual local authority. However, guidance is contained in Local Authority Circular 1/95 – Guidance on Decriminalised Parking Outside London which has been adopted by all local authorities introducing decriminalised parking enforcement.

Transport

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications are of the recent decision by the Scottish Parking Appeals Service to uphold an appeal against a parking fine levied under the Road Traffic (Permitted Parking Area and Special Parking Area) (Aberdeen City Council) Designation Order 2003.

Tavish Scott: This is a matter for the appellant to take up with Aberdeen City Council.

Transport

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children travelled to school by private car in (a) 2001, (b) 1991, (c) 1981 and (d) 1971.

Robert Brown: Although information is not available for 1971 and 1981, data on how school children normally travelled to school for each year from 1999 to 2005 is set out in Table 5.33 of Scotland’s People: results from the 2005 Scottish Household Survey , published by the Scottish Executive in August 2006, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40753).

  Some sample data on how children aged 5-16 travelled to school in the period 1989-91 is set out in Table 12.19 of Scottish Transport Statistics no. 24: 2005 edition, published by the Scottish Executive in August 2005, a copy of which is also available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37306). However, those figures, which were produced from the National Travel Survey, are on a slightly different basis.

Vaccines

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be equal access to the flu vaccination programme across Scotland and whether any NHS boards will be short of vaccine this winter.

Mr Andy Kerr: ‎As a result of a European wide delay in the delivery of flu vaccine, the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that the vaccine should be prioritised according to clinical need as vaccine becomes available.

  Strenuous efforts have been made by key stakeholders including flu vaccine manufacturers, community pharmacists and NHSScotland to coordinate the distribution of influenza vaccine to minimise the effect of any delay in supply. Individual GP practices have been asked to liaise closely with community pharmacists to ensure that they have sufficient stock of vaccine before scheduling patients for immunisation clinics.

  While there has been some delay in the delivery of this year’s flu vaccine, NHS boards are expected to receive their full vaccine orders. In Scotland we will be receiving 1.3 million doses of flu vaccine this year, 200,000 ‎more doses than last year. This will ensure that all priority groups including those aged over 65 ‎and people with a chronic medical condition will receive their flu jabs.

  By the end of October over 61% of the vaccine had been delivered. This will rise to over 84% by the end of November, 99.6% by the end of December, with the remainder being delivered in January.

Vaccines

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many flu vaccinations were (a) ordered and (b) assessed as being needed and how many have been accrued for the 2006-07 winter period.

Mr Andy Kerr: In Scotland, 1.3 million doses of flu vaccine have been ordered for the implementation of the flu vaccination programme in 2006-07. This is 200,000 more doses than last year.

  By the end of October, over 61% of the vaccine had been delivered. This will rise to over 84% by the end of November, 99.6% by the end of December, with the remainder being delivered in January.

Water Industry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it plans to give Waterwatch Scotland during 2006-07.

Rhona Brankin: Nil. Waterwatch Scotland is funded by the Water Industry Commission from a levy imposed on Scottish Water in accordance with the provisions of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002. For 2006-07 this is £647,800.

Water Industry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Waterwatch Scotland receives funding from any source other than the Executive and, if so, from whom.

Rhona Brankin: Waterwatch Scotland is funded by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland from a levy imposed on Scottish Water in accordance with the provisions of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002. The Executive also provided one-off grant assistance in 2005-06 towards its set up costs on relocation to Alloa under the Executive’s Small Units Relocation Initiative.

Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Rhona Brankin: The Financial Memorandum to the bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The Executive is not aware of any additional costs having been incurred as a result of the act.

Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Rhona Brankin: The Financial Memorandum to the Bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. Much of the set up and annual costs will arise from 2006-07 onwards following full implementation of the Act. Comparable figures for actual costs are not therefore available yet.